Russia, Venezuela agree on oil field joint venture

A consortium of major Russian producers and Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA signed here Monday an agreement to form a joint venture for tapping the Junin- 6 field in Venezuela's Orinoco crude belt.

"The Russian consortium is prepared to pay the agreed bonus of 600 million U.S. dollars as soon as the Venezuelan parliament has ratified the agreement signed today," said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who witnessed the paper signing with Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez in Moscow.

The Junin-6 field, whose daily output could hit 450,000 barrels, has an estimated reserve of 53 billion barrels of heavy oil.

The energy deal was clinched during Venezuelan President Hugh Chavez's visit to Moscow in September 2009.

The Russian National Oil Consortium consisting of Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprom Neft, TNK-BP and Surgutneftegas would hold a 40 percent share in the joint venture, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told reporters.

"Investment will reach 20 billion dollars during phase two," Sechin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The project could possibly last for 40 years, he added.

Source: Xinhua